Special Counsel Robert Mueller has screeched the political world to a halt with indictments of former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort and business partner Rick Gates on Monday.
News of the charges were leaked to CNN on Friday evening, signaling Mueller, despite coming after Manafort for alleged crimes which largely took place before Donald Trump announced his candidacy for President, aimed to maximize the coverage of the ensuing events.
One aspect of the Manafort case which has largely gone unreported is whether or not the former Trump official’s constitutional rights were violated. Rachel Stockman, a Yale Law School educated journalist for LawNewz believes there is strong evidence suggesting Mueller’s team violated Manafort’s constitutional rights.
Stockman writes:
In a surprise raid on July 26th, FBI agents busted into Manafort’s home in Alexandria, Virginia to collect documents and other materials related to the FBI probe into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians. At the time, Manafort’s attorney raised concerns about how the raid was conducted. In order for the feds to obtain a warrant, a federal judge would have to determine that probable cause existed that a crime was committed. As part of the warrant, investigators attached an affidavit which contained a list of items that FBI agents hoped to collect. That’s where the trouble appears to be in Manafort’s case.
As a legal website, we were immediately drawn to the revelation that evidence was collected that may not have been covered by the warrant. That’s a serious development, and one that Manafort’s attorneys will no doubt seize upon. But, is it necessarily illegal? Did the agents do anything wrong? It’s not clear. It certainly could raise some serious constitutional issues that could taint the investigation.
“If they (investigators) had any kind of heads up, and they went beyond the scope of the warrant, that could be a problem,” Former federal prosecutor Henry Hockeimer, told LawNewz.
“Generally if agents seize privileged materials, (Manafort) could argue the entire search was tainted, they went beyond the scope of the warrant, a defense attorney could make some hay out of this,” Hockeimer added.
Over the summer, the Washington Post reported the FBI raided former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s Alexandria home late last month. A New York Times report alleges the FBI seized “tax documents and foreign banking records.”
Washington Examiner reporter Byron York pointed out the FBI barged into Manaforts home with “guns drawn.”
Tweet credit: Byron York
CNN: FBI agents broke into Manafort's home with guns drawn. https://t.co/gBKrBC2eu7 pic.twitter.com/LtUr9jUdsC
— Byron York (@ByronYork) September 20, 2017
As The Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft reported Monday morning, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and business partner Rick Gates were ordered to surrender to federal authorities. Manafort has officially surrendered to the FBI, having entered the Bureau’s Washington, D.C. headquarters shortly after 8:00am EST.
The Justice Department released the list of 12 chargers facing Manafort and Gates, which include ‘conspiracy to launder money,’ and making ‘misleading FARA statements.’
“Ex-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and Richard Gates indicted on 12 counts, including “conspiracy against the United States,” tweeted NBC News
Tweet credit: NBC News
BREAKING: Ex-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and Richard Gates indicted on 12 counts, including "conspiracy against the United States" pic.twitter.com/zabSHg5Yre
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 30, 2017
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